Full-Body Reading

To mom, reading involved the use of hands to hold the book and turn pages, the eyes to read the text, and the toes to execute the most intricate and involved little dances. I am not sure whether this meant that reading made her feel like dancing, or if it meant that her toes had a secret life of her own that only became possible when her mind was too busy to notice. Either way, I found it impossible to read in the same room while she was reading because those dancing toes were so distracting!

Sense of Humor

My mother had a sharp, even wicked, sense of humor that manifested itself in such an unpredictable manner, and when you least expected it. Although she was often obvious in her jokes, sometimes she hit you with something that you didn't notice for a while. For example: mom's email address on gmail was lindaoldhamster@gmail.com. It took me a while before I realized this.

Head of the Land

Every year for several years, mom, Nadir, Aziza, Osman, and I would spend up to two months in Ras El-Barr, a small, sleepy resort town at the Damietta outlet of the Nile at the Mediterranean Sea. Ras El-Barr literally means "Head of the Land," which means "the Cape" in Arabic. I have a number of stories for you about that place, but for now, I'll let you enjoy this photo taken there in 1984 (I think). Wasn't she beautiful?

Mom's Boob Rings

Mom was fond of old ethnic jewelry. She preferred silver and gilded base metals to gold, with one notable exception. Typical of her favorite pieces were two silver milk rings from Yemen and India, which were basically women's breasts in silver, nipples and all. One of them was even designed to jiggle. She loved to tell any and all that nursing mothers in rural areas used to wear these pieces to increase their breast milk.

Mom and Aziza, 1979

This is mom with my sister, Aziza, in 1970. Aziza got married this December.

Happy New Year

Although mom placed little importance, if any, on New Year's Eve/Day, I wish you all a very happy new year. On this occasion I promise to try harder than ever to keep my resolutions, and to do my very best to collect whatever facts, stories, fables, and tall tales belong here, on this blog.

The Chocolate Cow Cake

This was the cake mom made for my 5th birthday. The art is hers.